How to Boost Your Pocket as a non-Finnish Student in Finland

Introduction:

Studying abroad had always been a dream of mine. Hailing from a developing country and making it to a highly competitive program at Jamk University of Applied Sciences in Jyväskylä, Finland is itself an achievement. My name is Saad Malik, and I am currently a Master’s in Cybersecurity student at the Jamk University of Applied Sciences. My studies at Jamk, Finland commenced in September 2022, and I arrived in Jyväskylä during the first week of my studies. Previously, I had completed my Bachelor of Electrical Engineering with a major in Computer in my home country. Afterward, I decided to pursue my dream of studying abroad in Finland. The next question that comes to mind is choosing a study destination. In my case, I applied to multiple universities in various countries including the USA, the UK, the Czech Republic, and Finland, and had acceptance offers from 3 universities in the USA, 3 in the UK, 1 in the Czech Republic, and 2 in Finland. I chose Finland primarily because of the specific concentration in Cybersecurity that it was offering, its affordable tuition fee and a scholarship, English as the medium of instruction, and a straightforward visa process.

Start of the studies in Jyväskylä:

Overall, since the day of my arrival in the country, it has been a roller-coaster ride full of challenging yet amazing experiences. The study program for a Master’s in Cybersecurity has already imparted enough knowledge that has increased my curiosity as I delve further into the program. The studying culture in the university is very independent, and stress-free and allows you to select from a range of different courses. It even allows the opportunity to take courses in other universities and transfer credits to your program; something I was unfamiliar with before. Furthermore, the teachers have been immensely helpful concerning study and in every conceivable way they can. My university city Jyväskylä is considered a student-friendly city and offers discounts to international and national students on a range of products, events, and services.

Job-searching journey in Jyväskylä and finding job through Jamk Talent Boost event:

Despite all these advantages and benefits, one big challenge has been the rising inflation, particularly in the contemporary scenario of the Russia-Ukraine war. Because of this, the rents, prices of eatables in grocery stores, and fuel and electricity prices have risen and it has become difficult for international students to survive since they must pay the tuition fees in addition to the living expenses. I realized this early on and started looking for additional means to support myself. I explored many online job application portals through online research and visited several restaurants in the city center to look for part-time student jobs. Moreover, I attended many jobs search and networking events organized by the university and its associated bodies such as Jamk Talent Boost. Jamk Talent Boost is a project launched by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment along with the Ministry of Education and Culture., that aims to improve the opportunities for Jamk’s international students in finding internships and employment in Central Finland. Talent Boost helps students through its blog, Facebook, and Instagram posts by advertising various job opportunities and holding career events. I had the chance to attend a few of these events and my information increase through these events was exponential. One such event was CV and LinkedIn profile review during which I was offered personal one-on-one coaching about how to tailor my resume and cover letter for the Finnish job market. The second event was Boost Your Pocket during which I had the chance to hear the personal experience of three alumni students from Jamk about their initial struggles and how they were able to gain part-time student jobs during the duration of their studies. Their stories helped me very much with how to focus my job search and the importance of networking. As a result, I had two job offers after the end of my 2nd month in Finland. One of them was with the Posti Group and the other was with a restaurant. Both paid enough to manage my day-to-day expenses.

 Finally, I would like to conclude by admitting that the job search process can sometimes be frustrating, especially in smaller cities but if one is hardworking and shows persistence, network with the right people, and adopts an optimistic attitude, then it is just a matter of time that jobs come looking for the person. At the end of the blog post, I have also compiled a list of a few websites that can be beneficial for upcoming students during their job search. Hopefully, these will be helpful ?